<VV> the "next generation" of Corvair enthusiasts

[Tony Underwood]

At 12:02 PM 6/6/2007, Ray Rodriguez wrote:

>      My generation, and as near as I can tell the next younger 
> generation, (I know quite a few younger kids) thinks that the 
> "muscle cars" of the 60's and early 70's are some of the coolest 
> cars on the road.  We were not around when these cars were new and 
> plentiful, but they've become legends of a sort.  Kid's like fast 
> cars, not classy cars or pretty cars... muscle cars are the epitome 
> of fast cars... even if they weren't really that quick in reality 
> compared to todays fast cars.



Careful now...  don't let the lousy tire tech of the '60s lead you 
into believing that '60s vintage performance cars weren't at least as 
fast as the best that today can offer.    I still recall how the 
Mopar Maxwedge cars had problems turning low 14s in street trim, 
spinning tires 100 ft off the line.

Put slicks on them and they turned low 12s/high 11s.    Same way with 
the Hemi cars...  dogs in street trim, but tool them up for strip 
work with some decent rubber so they can get the power to the 
pavement and all was well with the world.

Place those '60s vintage muscle cars beside today's neomuscle, with 
the same advantages today's cars enjoy (tire tech etc) and see which 
is quicker...   I know a fellow who had a stone stock Dodge 
Challenger R/T, show car, "certified stock" by the judges at various 
shows...  it turned 12:10 at 114 mph with modern sticky tires, in 
street trim, *through the mufflers*.   There's no way in the world 
that car could have done so with the 6 inch wide bias ply tires it 
came with in 1970.

Hell, when the "wide oval" letter-branded 70 and 60 series tires 
started showing up on new cars, even a '71 Duster with a stock 340 
engine could turn 13s if you rode the clutch to get it to 
hook.     Even though they were specialty bias ply performance tires 
and much better than what had been offered before... they were still 
considerably less effective than the tires you can walk into Wal-Mart 
and buy off the rack today.


An example of performance "bang for the buck" off the dealer floor 
was the '68 Roadrunner an old buddy bought new, blue, black interior, 
Torqueflite automatic, 383 Super-Commando engine (335hp) and the 
obligatory L-60 tires on back to get it to hook.    He paid less than 
2900 bucks for the car, from Fulton Motors here in Roanoke.

It turned a quarter-mile in the high 13s with wheelspin at New London 
dragstrip... and on one occasion to shut up a Mustang owner who 
thought his GT was quick, he took the pony pilot for a ride down 
I-81's straight stretch between Roanoke and Cloverdale at over 150 
mph just to show Mr Mustang that the "Chicken" could do it.


Hard to beat a car that will do all that for less than 3000 bucks and 
still be docile enough to drive to and from anywhere.


The 1960s were INDEED the Golden Age of performance cars.     And, 
they were the era when you could buy a nicely equipped Corvair for 
less than that Roadrunner.



tony..